Researchers have suggested that both ambiguity and values play important roles in shaping employees’ proactive behaviors, but have not theoretically or empirically integrated these factors. Drawing on theories of situational strength and values, we propose that ambiguity constitutes a weak situation that strengthens the relationship between the content of employees’ values and their proactivity. A field study of 201 employees and their direct supervisors in a water treatment plant provided support for this contingency perspective. Ambiguity moderated the relationship between employees’ security and prosocial values and supervisor ratings of proactivity. Under high ambiguity, security values predicted lower proactivity, whereas prosocial values predicted higher proactivity. Under low ambiguity, values were not associated with proactivity. We replicated these findings in a laboratory experiment with 232 participants in which we measured proactivity objectively as initiative taken to correct errors: participants with strong security values were less proactive, and participants with strong prosocial values were more proactive, but only when performance expectations were ambiguous. We discuss theoretical implications for research on proactivity, values, and ambiguity and uncertainty.

Based on a comparative field study of two software development projects, we use ethnographic methods of observation
and interview to examine the question of how interdependent individuals develop and maintain mutual focus of attention
on a shared task, which we define as the group engagement process. Drawing on Randall Collins’ interaction ritual theory,
we identify how mutual focus of attention develops through the presence of a task bubble that focuses attention by creating
barriers to outsiders and through the effective use of task-related artifacts. Shared emotion both results from mutual focus of
attention and reinforces it. Through our comparison between the two projects, we show that the group engagement process
is enabled by factors at the individual (individual engagement), interaction (frequency and informality of interactions), and
project (compelling direction of the overall group) levels. Our focus on group interaction episodes as the engine of the
group engagement process illuminates what individuals do when they are performing the focal work of the group (i.e.,
solving problems related to the task at hand) and how they develop and sustain the mutual focus of attention that is required
for making collective progress on the task itself. We also show the relationship between the group engagement process and
effective problem solving.

Using survey data from two distinct samples, we found that reported integration behaviors (e.g., attending company
parties, discussing nonwork matters with colleagues) were associated with closer relationships among coworkers but
that this effect was qualified by an interaction effect. Racial dissimilarity moderated the relationship between integration and
closeness such that integration was positively associated with relationship closeness for those who were demographically
similar to their coworkers, but not for those who were demographically dissimilar from their coworkers. Additionally, this
moderation effect was mediated by the extent to which respondents experienced comfort and enjoyment when integrating.
These findings highlight the importance of creating the right kind of interactions for building closer relationships between
employees, particularly relationships that span racial boundaries.

As employees increasingly interact with their professional contacts on online social networks that are personal in nature, such as Facebook or Twitter, they are likely to experience a collision of their professional and personal identities that is unique to this new and expanding social space. In particular, online social networks present employees with boundary management and identity negotiation opportunities and challenges, because they invite non-tailored self-disclosure to broad audiences, while offering few of the physical and social cues that normally guide social interactions. How and why do employees manage the boundaries between their professional and personal identities in online social networks, and how do these behaviors impact the way they are regarded by professional contacts? We build a framework to theorize about how work-nonwork boundary preferences and self-evaluation motives drive the adoption of four archetypical sets of online boundary management behaviors (open, audience, content, and hybrid), and the consequences of these behaviors for respect and liking in professional relationships. Content and hybrid behaviors are more likely to increase respect and liking than open and audience behaviors; audience and hybrid behaviors are less risky for respect and liking than open and content behaviors but more difficult to maintain over time.

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Nancy Rothbard, Lakshmi Ramarajan (2009), Checking Your Identities at the Door? Positive Relationships Between Nonwork and Work Identities, Exploring Positive Identities and Organizations: Building a Theoretical and Research Foundation

Nancy Rothbard, Lakshmi Ramarajan (2009), Checking Your Identities at the Door? Positive Relationships Between Nonwork and Work Identities, Exploring Positive Identities and Organizations: Building a Theoretical and Research Foundation

As individuals change jobs more frequently, it is increasingly important to understand what they carry from their prior work experience that affects their performance in a new organizational context. So far, explanations about the imperfect portability of experience have primarily been about firm specificity of knowledge and skill. We draw on psychological theory to propose additional sociocognitive factors that interfere with the transfer of knowledge and skill acquired from prior related work experience. As we hypothesized, we find that task-relevant knowledge and skill mediates the relationship between prior related experience and job performance and that it acts as suppressing mediator of a negative direct relationship between prior related experience and current job performance. We also find that the positive effect of prior related experience on task-relevant knowledge and skill is attenuated by higher levels of experience within the current firm.

People who are demographically different from one another face a fundamental challenge in developing high-quality relationships in organizations. We build theory about how the status differences that often accompany demographic characteristics can hinder this development through their influence on disclosure of personal information. We theorize about the construct of status distance and how, ironically, disclosure of personal information may increase status distance instead of bringing individuals closer together. Beyond status distance, we also discuss how status characteristics and identification with one’s characteristics influence disclosure of status-relevant information.

Organizational scholars and practitioners have devoted a great deal of attention to understanding how to foster environments where all employees feel valued, and can work well with each other, particularly in settings that are demographically diverse (Bacharach, Bamberger & Vashdi, 2005; Ely & Thomas, 2001; Roberson, 2006). Many organizational efforts to meet these ends converge around the idea of inducing employees to bring their “whole selves” into the work place, which for employees often means revealing personal experiences, and allowing information and other aspects of their non-work lives to transcend the work/non-work boundary (Pratt & Rosa, 2003). Indeed, several theories suggest that increased disclosure of personal information will lead to higher quality interpersonal relationships in general, (Cozby, 1972; Collins & Miller, 1994) and also, more specifically in organizational work groups (Polzer, Milton, & Swann, 2002). However, sharing personal information may not enhance cohesion in work groups that are demographically diverse (Phillips, Northcraft & Neale, 2006). Moreover, demographically dissimilar individuals fare better when they understand how to present themselves strategically to majority group members (Flynn, Chatman & Spataro, 2001), which may entail restricting self disclosure. Given the complexities of today’s workforce, this chapter considers the implications of inducing all employees to bring their “whole selves” to work (Lewis, Rapoport & Gambles, 2003). We posit that although blurring work and personal identities has been positively linked with increased cohesion in past research, incorporating more of one’s non-work life and identities into the workplace may yield different effects for those in homogenous versus diverse groups.

As workers strive to manage multiple roles such as work and family, research has begun to focus on how people manage the boundary between work and nonwork roles. This paper contributes to emerging work on boundary theory by examining the extent to which individuals desire to integrate or segment their work and nonwork lives. This desire is conceptualized and measured on a continuum ranging from segmentation (i.e., separation) to integration (i.e., blurring) of work and nonwork roles. We examine the fit between individuals’ desires for integration/segmentation and their access to policies that enable boundary management, suggesting that more policies may not always be better in terms of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Using survey methodology and a sample of 460 employees, we found that desire for greater segmentation does moderate the relationship between the organizational policies one has access to and individuals’ satisfaction and commitment. People who want more segmentation are less satisfied and committed to the organization when they have greater access to integrating policies (e.g., onsite childcare) than when they have less access to such policies. Conversely, people who want greater segmentation are more committed when they have greater access to segmenting policies (e.g., flextime) than when they have less access to such policies. Moreover, the fit between desire for segmentation and organizational policy has an effect on satisfaction and commitment over and above the effects of demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, income, number of children, and the ages of those children.

This study compared identity and utilitarian motives as predictors of time investment in work and family roles, using structural equation modeling with a sample of 623 working men and women. We tested within-role and cross-role relationships as well as the reciprocal effects of time invested in one role on time invested in the other role. As predicted, identification with a role was positively related to time invested in that role. However, findings for role utility were more complex. Time investment was positively related to both the pleasure and displeasure associated with a role. These findings suggest that people not only seek pleasure from roles but also invest time coping with role displeasure. The cross-role findings supported resource drain and accommodation but not compensation as explanations of work-family linking mechanisms. Gender analyses suggested that, for men, increased work time investment reduced time devoted to family, but increased family time investment did not affect time devoted to work. However, for women, increased time investment in either work or family reduced time devoted in the other role. These findings suggest that men may have greater reserves of time from roles other than work and family that make it unnecessary for them to draw from work time to meet increased family demands.

This study develops a model of engagement in the multiple roles of work and family. I examine two competing arguments about the effects of engaging in multiple roles, depletion and enrichment, and integrate them by identifying the type of emotional response to a role, negative or positive, as a critical contrasting assumption held by these two perspectives. Moreover, I represent depletion and enrichment as complex multistep processes that include multiple constructs, such as engagement and emotion. This study jointly examines both the depleting and enriching processes that link engagement in one role to engagement in another, using structural equation modeling. Findings from a survey of 790 employees reveal evidence for both depletion and enrichment as well as gender differences. Specifically, depletion existed only for women and only in the work-to-family direction. Men experienced enrichment from work to family, while women experienced enrichment from family to work. Overall, more linkages were found between work and family for women than for men.

Work-family research emphasizes the importance of mechanisms that link work and family. However, these mechanisms typically are described in metaphoric terms poorly suited to rigorous research. In this article we translate work-family linking mechanisms into causal relationships between work and family constructs. For each relationship we explain its sign and causal structure and how it is influenced by personal intent. We show how these respecified linking mechanisms constitute theoretical building blocks for developing comprehensive models of the work-family interface.

Jeffrey R. Edwards, Nancy Rothbard (1999), Work and family stress and well-being: An examination of person-environment fit in the work and family domains, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 77: 85-129.
Abstract

Research indicates that work and family are significant sources of stress. However, this research has underemphasized the cognitive appraisal process by which work and family generate stress. This study used person–environment fit theory to examine how the comparison of work and family experiences to the person’s values relates to stress and well-being. Using data from 1758 employees, we assessed fit regarding autonomy, relationships, security, and segmentation for both work and family, and examined the relationship of fit with work and family satisfaction, anxiety, depression, irritation, and somatic symptoms. In general, well-being improved as experiences increased toward values and improved to a lesser extent as experiences exceeded values. Well-being was also higher when experiences and values were both high than when both were low. These relationships were generally strongest for within-domain fit and well-being (i.e., work fit and work satisfaction, family fit and family satisfaction), and several relationships were moderated by work and family centrality.

Jeffrey R. Edwards, Nancy Rothbard (1999), Work and family stress and well-being: An examination of person-environment fit in the work and family domains, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 77: 85-129.

Under what conditions will women raise and promote gender-equity issues in their work organization? We used structural equation modeling to analyze responses from a sample of over a thousand female managers to address this question. The results suggest that the perceived favorability of the organizational context fosters a willingness to sell gender-equity issues in organization. The contextual factor that influenced willingness to sell were perceptions of a high degree of organizational support and of a warm and trusting relationship with critical decision makers, which enhanced the perceived probability of selling success and diminished the perceived image risk in selling. Organizational norms for issue selling also increased willingness to sell gender-equity issues by deflating perceived image risk. Individual differences did not predict willingness to sell gender-equity issues. We address the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.